Customer Relationship Management Software Systems

CRM success is far more than just a one time project activity; it's a change in company culture and a continuous journey that matures over time as customer needs evolve, business capabilities change and the customer relationship grows. CRM is a business strategy first and foremost. CRM software delivers the framework, management and automation to achieve and scale CRM strategies. Members in this forum have discovered successful methods, effective business processes, lessons learned and best practices which collectively lower risk and increase CRM payback. In this CRM channel we share and advance those ideas.

CRM Software Reviews

This independent Salesforce CRM review analyzes the cloud CRM leader's competitive strengths and comparative weaknesses. The impartial analysis then advises Salesforce.com's sweet spot and when CRM buyers should short list this cloud solution, as well as when alternative products may make better sense for the company.

Although a late entrant to the cloud CRM market, Microsoft has become the number 4 CRM software market share leader (behind Salesforce, SAP and Oracle). The company is using its momentum to shift the market in terms of platform capabilities, delivery options and software pricing. This Microsoft Dynamics CRM review shares the strengths and weaknesses of this rising solution.

CRM Software Articles

Experienced consultants know that all CRM solutions are not created equal. They also know when you focus on the most salient factors you will find that CRM systems that initially appeared quite similar begin to look quite different. Here we simplify the CRM selection process by sharing a proven 10 step CRM software selection framework that will guide a company toward making the best decision.

Too many call centers adhere to a customer annoyance or avoidance approach rather than a CRM strategy. They greet customer calls with messages and stringed together prompts which they know are irrelevant to over 90% of their customers. And that’s only the beginning of the planned customer frustration process. For call center leaders that want to do better, and achieve real CRM, here’s how to do it.

CRM Thought Leaders In Their Own Words

Anthony Lye is responsible for Oracle CRM On Premise and Oracle CRM On Demand, CRM on Demand operations and Oracle's own deployment of CRM. He's a veteran of the CRM software industry and is equal parts strategist and spokesman. Here he explains Oracle's new strategies—including the Oracle Public Cloud, Oracle Social Network and relationship of CRM on Demand and Fusion CRM. More ...

As the General Manager of global product management and marketing for Microsoft CRM, Brad Wilson is responsible for driving awareness, demand and revenue on a worldwide basis. In this conversation, we discuss new releases—including new social CRM—and flush out Microsoft's CRM positioning and several of Dynamics CRM and CRM online competitive advantages. More ...

CRM White Papers

Research finds that 72% of customers use social media to research a company’s reputation for customer care before making a purchase, and 74% choose to do business with companies based on the customer care experiences shared by their peers through social media. Yet many companies sit the social media sidelines. Here's why and how to leverage social media to create a social service capability.

Here's the advice in how to assess business needs and processes in order to lay the groundwork for a best-practice selection of CRM software. When evaluating CRM applications, smart companies will move quickly beyond "checklist" capabilities and carefully scrutinize the CRM solution’s ability to easily enable and automate business processes and deliver actionable insights to decision makers.

The history of failed or disappointing CRM implementations is notorious and wide spread. Fortunately, research and lessons learned are available for those who seek out information and plan their deployments based on proven strategies. Here’s how CRM implementations can be mapped out into a series of best practices to achieve predictable success.

Customer Relationship Management is a journey, not a destination. Failing to refine and advance your CRM program will not just deteriorate your CRM system, but also your customer relationships. Based on realms of research and decades of experience, there are some well advised best practices to help you improve your CRM software utilization and get more payback from your software investment.